


Comfort

by nekocrouton



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 07:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5489042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekocrouton/pseuds/nekocrouton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/Cabonet/pseuds/Cabonet">Cabonet</a> had dropped an idea into my chatbox/inbox on Tumblr, and it was SO DARN CUTE that I just had to write it out.  Basically it's a cute thing where Nick goes on a long trip and Ellis just isn't used to him not being there, especially in the mornings when he gets up.  So when Ellis gets really lonely, he takes a pillow and one of Nick's shirts and makes it into a comfort item that he can cuddle.  I THOUGHT IT WAS SO ADORABLE, SO HERE IT IS.  Of course this is post-apocalypse, with no zombies.  Nick/Ellis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cabonet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cabonet/gifts).



“Well… good night kiddo. You’ve got work tomorrow, so you should probably go get some sleep instead of yapping to me on the phone all night. Besides, those tables aren’t going to wait for me to get there. I should probably get going too,” Nick chuckled roughly on the other end of the call.

 

“Yeah, but I don’t _wanna_ go to bed,” Ellis said as he stifled a yawn with the palm of his hand. He rolled over towards the middle of the bed, _their_ bed, and plopped his head back on what happened to be _Nick’s_ pillow. “I miss ya.” He kind of hated that Nick had travelled across the country to Las Vegas for a big poker tournament, and if he wouldn’t lose his job for it, he would have _definitely_ gone along for the ride. But they were already short at the shop as it was, especially considering that mechanics were hard to come by post-zombie apocalypse, so there was no _way_ that he could have taken off. Which sucked, because hell, who wouldn’t want to go to Vegas? Especially with their hot as hell boyfriend who happened to be a _pro_ at poker? “We ain’t really been apart from each other much since quarantine.”

 

“It’s just for a few nights, sport. You’ll probably get _so_ caught up in fixing something at work that I’ll be back before you know it.”

 

“Yeah, maybe,” Ellis agreed as he slid his free hand underneath his head and gave a little pout that no one could see. “You gonna call me every night?”

 

Nick laughed again. “Yeah, I’ll call you. I know that if I don’t, you’ll blow up my phone otherwise. I won’t make that mistake again.”

 

Ellis grinned into the mouthpiece of his phone at hearing the comment. “I guess ya _do_ learn new tricks, Mr. Gamblin’ Man.”

 

“Yeah well, on that note, I probably really _should_ go Ellis,” Nick said with a laugh. “You don’t want this trip to be for nothing, right?”

 

“I reckon yer right ‘bout that. I don’t wanna be doin’ all this missin’ ya an’ stuff if you ain’t gonna be bringin’ back some money.” He gave a sigh, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to _have_ to hang up now. “I love ya man. An’ I miss ya. I can’t wait ‘till ya get back home.”

 

“I know you do,” Nick replied with a little huff of laughter. There was a pause before he spoke again, this time with a lower, raspier tone. “I love you too, El. It’s just a few days. And I _promise_ , I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”

 

Ellis couldn’t help but give a little shiver at the underlying meaning of Nick’s words, and he smiled. “I’m countin’ on it. G’night, Nick.”

 

“Night Ellis. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

 

“’Kay. Night.”

 

Once he heard a click on the other end of the line, Ellis pulled his phone away to see that the call had indeed been disconnected. He sighed as he tossed it back onto the nightstand and laid back onto the bed with a sigh. _Maybe I am actin’ like a kid_ , Ellis pondered as he attempted to get comfortable by tugging one of their many comforters over his body. The thought didn’t stop him from frowning while he curled up and snuggled into the bedsheets. Before the apocalypse, he would have had no problem sleeping alone, hell, he had done it pretty much _all_ of the time. But now, things were different, _he_ was different. Even though the daily threat to his life wasn’t there anymore, his body and his mind sometimes acted and thought differently. Having Nick sleeping next to him was _comforting_ , especially when he’d wake up in the middle of the night out of a _very_ realistic nightmare. So for him to _not_ have his comfort for the next new nights was just going to _suck_.

 

Ellis gave a little huff of frustration when he _just_ couldn’t get himself comfortable, finding himself tossing and turning no matter which way he laid himself out on the bed. After a few minutes of irritation, a thought hit him. The idea was _probably_ kind of silly, hell he _knew_ it was a little ridiculous, but since he was home alone for a few days, no one had to know. He got out of bed and made a beeline for their closet, and once he had the door open, Ellis started to root through Nick’s clothes. Fortunately for him, Nick was pretty meticulous about keeping his clothing organized, so it didn’t take him long to tug free from the hanger what he was looking for; one of the Northerner’s frequently worn long-sleeved dress shirts. With the shirt now in hand, Ellis made his way back to the bed and grabbed a pillow, one of _Nick’s_ pillows to be exact, before clambering up and taking a seat on the mattress. He got to work unbuttoning the shirt, which happened to be a darker blue color that looked _damn_ good on his boyfriend, and even better when he was taking it _off_ of his boyfriend. Ellis grinned at the pleasant thought while he fumbled with the buttons. Once he had it open, he stuffed Nick’s pillow into the middle of it and then worked on buttoning the shirt back up again. With a couple tucks of fabric here and there, he soon had the pillow all wrapped up within Nick’s shirt.

 

Ellis sat back and admired his handiwork, although he still felt a little _funny_ about what he was doing. He was a grown man after all, and hell, it’s not like Nick was home all of the time to tuck him into bed or anything like that. Not that he _needed_ that, anyway. Nick was often out late until the wee hours of the morning, so Ellis was somewhat used to falling asleep alone. But when he woke up in the morning, Nick was almost _always_ there. And he had gotten pretty used to _that_.

 

He grabbed his makeshift cuddle buddy and wiggled down into his comforters once again, catching a subtle waft of Nick’s cologne as he shifted in the sheets. The smell was comforting, and even though having Nick next to him was _much_ more preferable, what Ellis had worked out wasn’t half bad either. He gave a little sigh as he tugged the pillow towards him, getting an even stronger whiff of his boyfriend’s scent when he wrapped his arms around it. It was _nice_ to breathe in that familiar smell, and it helped to soothe himself to the point where his eyes eventually fluttered shut. _He’s only gonna be gone a few days, it’s gonna be all right. I can make it a few days._ It wasn’t long before Ellis was completely out, dozing peacefully with a slight quirk of a smile on his lips while he was snuggled up to his newfound comfort item. And surprisingly, he managed to sleep calmly through the _entire_ night.


End file.
